lemon raspberry quinoa pancakes: guest post at cooking quinoa! and vegan food swapping

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Gabby @ the veggie nook

Today I’m really excited to share with you all another pancake recipe! Yes that’s right, I’ve had TWO pancakes successes recently! I think my relationship with pancakes might finally be changing!

These lemon raspberry quinoa pancakes don’t use any flour, rather used soaked whole quinoa grains to preserve maximum nutrition and make them easily digestible!

I bet you want the recipe, don’t you? Well then please make your way on over to Wendy’s blog, Cooking Quinoa!

And while you’re over there, wish her congratulations, she just welcomed a precious little girl, Skye to her family :)

And just before I go, I want to show off what I got in this month’s Vegan Food Swap!

With all of my restrictions, Jessica had quite the task- no gluten, no refined sugar, no nightshades, etc. And she did amazing! Included was:

Giddy YoYo Vanilla Bean and Mountain Salt raw chocolate bar- my absolute favourite!
Nüd Food Carrot crackers- the person who started this company actually went to the same school as me which is pretty cool. These are raw and vegan but I can never justify buying them though so these were a treat! I’ve also had the Green Energy ones before which are great!
Higher Living Vitality Tea- a delicious herbal blend that I’ve been enjoying every night!

Thank you so much Jessica!

Now if you live in Canada and want to get involved in some vegan swapping, sign up at MeShell in Your City!

Now get on over to Cooking Quinoa for my pancake recipe!

I'm sharing these on Allergy-Free Wednesday.

the second virtual vegan potluck- almond butter and quinoa fruit salad

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Gabby @ the veggie nook

i’m so excited it’s finally here! the second virtual vegan potluck! i had so much time participating last time so of course i jumped at the opportunity to join in again. for those of you who don’t know, the virtual vegan potluck is a twice-yearly, plant-based food party for vegan and vegan-friendly food bloggers. bringing 105 vegan food bloggers together to share a virtual potluck, linked by a blog circle – and our love of cooking, eating and sharing. participating bloggers will post recipes – from appetizers to desserts – and photos on the day of the event. non-vegans welcome as long as they prepare a cruelty- and animal-free dish. this time around it was organized by the lovely annie, somer and jason so thanks so much guys for putting so much hard work and dedication into this event!

this potluck acts as a sort of chain where there is a beginning and an end, starting with appetizers and finishing with desserts. if this is your first stop make sure to scroll to the end of the post to find links to the post before mine and the one that follows! if you want to go to the beginning and follow it on through, go to vegan blogger’s unite, the host site!

now, when i was trying to figure out what to bring, my initial thoughts were a dessert. i mean, they are my absolute favourite thing to make. but i brought a dessert last time- come on gabby branch out a bit! so i opted to sign up for a salad, with no real idea what it was going to be. slowly the potluck started creeping closer and closer and i still had no idea what i was doing. i eat salads everyday and yet putting together a well-composed and thought out salad was just not happening. then i got an idea, and while it’s a bit of a cheat, i hope my fellow potluckers and visitors don’t mind ;)

you see, ever since i made my quinoa pilaf with flax citrus dressing and chocolate chunks, i’ve been obsessed with adding sweet components to salads. then i got an idea for an almond butter dressing and from there the whole idea morphed into what i like to think of as a more substantial fruit salad. or more specifically a “gluten-free nut butter, jam and banana sandwich quinoa salad”. i know it’s a mouthful but it’s so delicious i swear you won’t mind! it tastes just like those sandwiches we had as kids with gooey nut butter, sweet jam and sliced banana, maybe even a little honey drizzled on top. epic yes? there’s no honey here, but it tastes like there is thanks to a lovely little product called bee free honee!

this would be a great salad to bring to a potluck for a few reasons:

it can be made ahead of time
it is delicious cold and room-temperature
it makes a lovely sweet side dish to other main meal components
it is more substantial than a regular fruit salad
leftovers can double as dessert or breakfast
it’s delicious!

so i hope you don’t mind my little cheat! not your typical salad, but still delicious. and without further ado here’s the recipe for my nut butter, jam and banana sandwich quinoa salad

nut butter, jam and banana sandwich quinoa salad (vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free)

ingredients (6 servings)

dressing

1/4 cup almond milk
2 tbsp almond butter (I used raw)
1 tbsp honee
pinch sea salt

salad

1 cup dry quinoa
1 3/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups hulled and quartered strawberries
1 1/2 bananas, sliced thin
squeeze lemon juice

instructions

first you'll want to cook your quinoa. heat a saucepan over medium low heat. rinse your quinoa, then add it to the saucepan to dry toast it. this will give it a lovely nutty taste. stir it continuously while it toasts until it starts to smell nutty and most of the water from the rinsing has evaporated. when it's all toasty, add your 1 3/4 cup water. bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer until the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. when it's done, set it aside to cool.

next chop all your fruit and place in a large bowl. squeeze some lemon juice over top, about 1/2 a small lemon and set aside.

next make the dressing. blend all dressing ingredients in a blender until combined.

when the quinoa is cooled add it to the bowl with the fruit, then toss with the dressing. serve cold or at room temperature.

thanks for stopping by everyone and i hope you enjoyed my dish!

in case you’re interested, here was my last virtual vegan potluck dish: raw strawberry cream cake!

now to go to the dish after mine in the chain over at keepin’ it kind click here:

to go to the one before mine at cadry’s kitchen click here:

or to go back to the beginning head over to vegan bloggers unite!

and be sure to come back here tomorrow for healthy vegan friday!

alter eco review, an easy curry and a rainbow quinoa pilaf with a surprise ingredient- chocolate!

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Gabby @ the veggie nook

Hey guys! In regards to my subscribers not getting emails, I have been told it was due to a malfunction in the plug-in I used to send out the emails. But a new version was released that is supposed to have fixed this bug so I sincerely hope you are all receiving my emails again. Some have already told me they are, so fingers crossed everyone is!

…

Sometimes a company just blows you away. With it’s quality of ingredients, commitment to sustainability and generosity, Alter Eco, is one of those companies.

It was quite a while ago when I first mentioned Alter Eco company on my blog. I had received one of their chocolate bars in a pen pal swap with the lovely Shelby and just loved it! It wasn’t too long after I was contacted by the company and we’ve been talking ever since, just waiting for a good time for me to try out some of their other products and host a giveaway. Well my friends, the time has come!

Firstly, I just want to thank Alter Eco for their generosity! They sent me a very generous package complete with Rainbow Quinoa, Thai Sticky Purple Rice and 5 different kinds of chocolate bars! Crazy right?

Yes I know there are only 4 bars pictured here, but the roommate got to one before I could take the picture!

I have a lot of respect for this company. With a focus on providing equitable and sustainable products, they strive to provide us with organic, heirloom, minimally processed foods while giving back to the farmers to ensure a more socially just planet. You can really feel good about buying and eating these products which can be tricky to come across these days.

Now onto the products themselves. First we’ll start with dessert. Or amazing decadent chocolate that is. Now I’m a chocolate person, but I dare anyone to dislike these bars! The quality is superb with a rich, smooth chocolate base that makes one square more than enough to satisfy a craving. Here are the 5 bars they sent me:

DarkToffee Dark Coconut Toffee

Dark Coconut Toffee

47% cocoa with coconut nut toffee, butter and sea salt. Now I didn’t try this one since it had dairy in it, but my roommate sure downed it pretty quickly which I take as a good sign ;)

Cacao

Dark Cacao

63% cocoa with crunchy cacao nibs. This was a bittersweet bar with rich sweetness coming from the chocolate and a bitter crunchiness from the cacao nibs. I loved the flavour and the antioxidant punch that comes with the nibs. They added great texture.

Almond

Dark Almonds

60% cocoa with slow roasted almonds. This was probably by favourite. Toasty, nutty crunch from the almonds complimented a deep dark chocolate beautifully.

Dark Quinoa

Dark Quinoa

60% cocoa with toasted quinoa. The quinoa provides a nutty crunch, similar to a rice krispy that makes this bar like a high-quality, super-amazing version of a Crunchy bar.

Blackout Dark Blackout

Dark Blackout

85% cocoa, straight up with nothing added. This was very intense and dark with fruity undertones. One of my favourites since I just love dark chocolate! Scroll down for a recipe using it!

Next were the grains.

Purple Sticky Rice - Alter Eco ©

Thai Sticky Purple Rice

This rice was simply gorgeous! It cooked up to a beautiful purple colour and was just as sticky as you would expect! It made eating dishes with chopsticks very easy and just soaked up loads of delicious sauces. Amazing when dry toasted before cooking.

It is for these reasons, I highly recommend making a curry to go with this rice.

See that beautiful colour? Doesn’t it just brighten up the whole plate?

Easy Weeknight Curry with Thai Purple Sticky Rice (Vegan, Gluten-free, Sugar-free)

Ingredients (Serves ~4)

1 cup Thai Purple Sticky Rice
2 cups water
oil for sautéing (I used coconut)
1 small onion (1 used 3 tiny Dutch onions)
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp red chilli flakes
your favourite veggies (I used yellow pepper, orange pepper, carrots, broccoli)
4 cups of the green of your choice (I used kale), it sounds like a lot, but it will wilt down
1 can coconut milk
2 tbsp good quality curry powder (I used the one Alexia sent me!)
sea salt and pepper to taste
diced tomato for topping (optional)

Instructions

First, get your rice cooking! Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Dry toast the rice over medium-low heat next in a medium saucepan, until it becomes nutty and fragrant and the grains are almost dry. Add the water to the pan, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 25 min, or until all the water is absorbed.

Melt your coconut oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until translucent and just starting to brown. Next add the garlic, chilli flakes and cumin and sauté for another minute. Add the rest of your veggies, next, starting with the ones that will take longest to cook (like broccoli and carrots), cook for a few minutes then add faster cookies ones like bell peppers). Sauté for a minute.

Now pour in the can of coconut milk and stir in the 2 tbsp of curry powder. Turn up the heat on the pan and bring the liquid to a simmer, stirring in the curry powder. Once simmering add the kale, or whichever green you are using, stir to incorporate then turn the heat down to low, cover and simmer for ~10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the curry over Thai Sticky Purple Rice and use the rice to sop up every last ounce of the sauce!

Royal Rainbow Quinoa [alt-000458.jpg]

Royal Rainbow Quinoa

This combination of white, red and black quinoa was simply fantastic. I loved the colour this quinoa gave to dishes and it helped me to incorporate some of the other quinoa varieties into my diet besides the white. For some reason I have never been a fan of red quinoa on it’s own- something about the texture, but as a part of this mix it was lovely! Plus it’s organic, sustainable and equitably traded with a focus on small farmers. which made me feel better about eating it. Have you guys read about all the problems with producing quinoa these days? Read this article about Bolivia, it really makes you think twice about this nutritious grain. Alter Eco’s methods help to combat these issues which is admirable.

When I was thinking about a recipe to make with the quinoa, I really wanted to go for something different and I wanted to include another of Alter Eco’s products in it- the chocolate. I know I could have done a chocolate dessert quinoa version of a rice pudding but I wanted to take it in a different direction. What resulted in a delicious rainbow quinoa pilaf with a flax-citrus dressing and chocolate chunks that is so intriguing in it’s flavours. The citrus dressing compliments the chocolate gorgeously and the quinoa provides a delicious, nutritious back drop to tie everything in. I used beets and green beans as my vegetables, but feel free to mix it up with whatever you have!

Rainbow Quinoa and Chocolate Pilaf with Flax Citrus Dressing (Vegan, Gluten-free)

Ingredients (Serves ~6)

Pilaf

1 cup Royal Rainbow Quinoa
2 cups water
1/2 a red onion, diced and submerged in ice water for 10 minutes. This helps reduce it’s pungency! Thanks for the tip Caralyn!
1 cup (ish) chopped green beans
3 large leaves red swiss chard, chopped into bite sized pieces
2 golden beets, peeled and grated
1/2 a bar of your favourite dark chocolate (I used Alter Eco’s Dark Blackout), chopped
3 tbsp – 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
sea salt and pepper to taste

Citrus-Flax Dressing

1/4 cup flax oil
2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp Bragg’s
1 tbsp coconut nectar (or maple syrup)
juice of 1/2 an orange

Instructions

First, rinse the quinoa until the water runs clear in a fine-meshed strainer. Then, dry toast the quinoa in a medium saucepan until it’s fragrant and almost dry. Then add in the water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover and cook for 10-15 minutes. About 2 minutes before it’s done add the chopped green beans and stir in to combine. When the quinoa is done, remove from the heat and add in the swiss chard. Stir and cover, then allow it to sit for a few minutes. This will soften the chard without overcooking it.

Add the quinoa mixture, red onion, and golden beets to a large bowl. Cover and allow it to chill in the fridge until completely cool. If it’s too warm the chocolate will melt when you add it.

While you’re waiting combine all dressing ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk well.

When the quinoa is chilled mix in the chocolate chunks and the dressing. Allow it to sit in the fridge for a few hours so the flavours combine. Just before serving add the pumpkin seeds.

I am submitting this recipe to Allergy-Free Wednesday!

This was so satisfying! The sweet chocolate is balanced perfectly from the sourness in the dressing, the bitterness of the chard and pungency of the onions. The dressing alone is amazing- I can’t wait to make it again!

I highly recommend supporting this company! Not only are their ethics totally in line, they make delicious products that are incredibly versatile and nutritious. Check them out!

Now because they are so awesome, Alter Eco has offered to send one lucky reader some goodies! Just enter the giveaway below. Leaving a blog comment is mandatory, but everything else is optional. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

bruschetta quinoa

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Gabby @ the veggie nook

I was debating quite a bit what to post today. You see, I had some seriously conflicting motivating factors! Do I post about a delicious dinner I made that is not only simple, but is also nutritious and one that my Nutrition and the Environment teacher would be proud of that uses ingredients soon to be out of season OR do I post about a dessert since it’s my BIRTHDAY? Anyone would have difficulty deciding right?

In the end though, you can see I went with my bruschetta quinoa dish. You see, while school only just started, things move fast here! We only take 2 classes as a time, meaning within a month two classes are done and another two are starting. So of course tests start the second week! I have thus been spending a ton more time thinking about my courses and how to fuel myself with good food to get through this busy time than I have been about my birthday.

Fuelling myself with quick, nutritious food has become really important to me in the last week. Work, school, volunteering and the overwhelming task of becoming acquainted with a new city have left me feeling drained and a little shell-shocked. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but haven’t found my groove yet where I feel balanced and in control. But I can absolutely control what I put in my body and cooking has been a great outlet for all my other feelings of uncertainty! I know without a doubt that I can buy and cook good food that will do my body good :)

Now it was only a matter of time before what I’m learning in school began to make it’s way onto the blog. The motivation for this dish all started with a tomato. Or rather the idea of a tomato and to be even more specific the “commercial tomato”. You see, in my Nutrition and the Environment class we’ve been discussing how our food choices of a society have impacted the environment and in turn how these changes have impacted our quality of food. One of the things that struck me was our discussion of the tomato and how conventional producers decide what tomatoes to grow and then sell.

Tomatoes these days are chosen based on their size, appearance and durability. They need to be large and productive so growing them is efficient, they need to look good so consumers will buy them, and they need to be durable so we can grow them quickly and ship them over large distance. Notice no where in there did I say that conventional producers require them to be tasty or nutritious! Why cares if a tomato doesn’t taste like a tomato? And so what if it contains significantly less vitamin C than a tomato 50 years ago? Because instead it looks red and bounces like a tennis ball. Score.

And with that, I’m sure my teacher would be proud to hear, walking into the supermarket now makes me sad.

Really though, this has inspired a serious shift in how I purchase food in just a short week. I am even more committed to buying local, in season produce! Because not only is this beneficial to the environment, but it gets me more nutritious and delicious tasting food!

Doesn’t hurt that I live 5 minutes from an amazing market either.

So when I saw these tomatoes at the farmer’s market, squishy like tomatoes should be, I knew I had to buy them and celebrate everything a tomato should be.

This bruschetta mixture really lets the tomato shine- mixed with garlic, good olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh basil and a little sea salt, it’s natural sweetness comes though. Instead of serving this on garlic toast like traditional bruschetta, I decided to cook up some garlic-infused quinoa and spoon the mixture on top! I really liked this option because gluten-free and sprouted breads can be a little bit more expensive and bread in-and-of-itself is a processed, refined product, no matter how wholesome the ingredients. Serving the bruschetta over a whole grain simplifies the dish and really makes this a celebration of whole, natural foods!

What I love about this dish as well, is that it is a wonderful marriage of raw and cooked foods. The tomato mixture isn’t cooked at all, preserving the living enzymes in the vegetables and the cooked quinoa adds a comforting quality. A great transition dish for fall!

I served this as is, but you could mix in some chickpeas or tofu for a heartier dinner. And please, please use in season, local, organic tomatoes for this. It won’t be the same without them!

Bruschetta Quinoa (Vegan, Gluten-free, Sugar-free)

Ingredients (2 servings)

4 field grown tomatoes, local and in season is best, chopped
2 + 1 cloves garlic, minced
10 leaves of basil, chiffonade
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp sea salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 cup water

Instructions

Chop the tomatoes and add 2 cloves of the minced garlic, sea salt, pepper, olive oil, vinegar and basil in a bowl. Toss and refrigerate for 30 min.

Sautee the remaining minced clove garlic in oil (I used coconut) until brown then add quinoa and toast for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Do this until the quinoa is fragrant and lightly browned. Then add 1 cup water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until all the water is absorbed.

Serve the tomato mixture on top of the quinoa. Excellent served cold as leftovers!

And don’t worry, I haven’t completely neglected celebrating my birthday. My schedule doesn’t allow for any celebrations this week, but thanks to a coupon from the lovely Hannah, I will be enjoying some So Delicious Coconut Milk Ice Cream, maybe even for breakfast, because while fuelling myself is important, sometime indulging is too ;)

Chocolate